By Frank E. Dosdos, Jr.
Correspondent
ILIGAN City — The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) broke ground a permanent housing project in Barangay Kilala, Marawi City, Monday.
Around 500 families from the most affected area of Marawi City will receive permanent shelter units from the UN-Habitat as part of the agency’s Japan-funded Rebuilding Marawi through Community-Driven Shelter and Livelihood Project. These housing units will be built on a 39-hectare land acquired and developed by the National Housing Authority (NHA).
Each shelter unit, which will stand on a 90-square-meter lot, will be a concrete, single attached, one-story structure with a total floor area of 46 square meters including a toilet and a kitchen, as well as electrical, and plumbing systems.
Bernhard Barth, UN-Habitat’s Human Settlements Officer of the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, underscored the importance of the event in the recovery of the evacuees, pointing out that the groundbreaking, “marks a very important phase in our contribution to achieving durable solutions for Marawi’s displaced population. We are grateful to NHA for granting this patch of land, wherein a few months, we will see a new community breathe with life.”
The project is in line with government efforts to fast-tracking Marawi’s rehabilitation, which according to Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council Chairperson Eduardo Del Rosario remains on track for completion by December 2021.
